PARSONS, Tenn. — The holiday shopping season got an early start in Decatur County on Sunday as local businesses opened their doors for the community’s annual Christmas Open House.
The Decatur County Chamber of Commerce organized the event, which ran on Sunday afternoon and put shoppers in the holiday spirit earlier than usual this year. WBBJ reported that dozens of local shops took part and offered holiday sales and giveaways for customers.
A handful of food trucks were set up across town, giving shoppers a place to grab a bite between visits to the locally owned stores. The mix of shopping and food kept people moving from one business to the next, which is the point of an open house organized by a chamber of commerce: it gives small businesses a shared day to draw crowds.
Open houses like this one matter most to independent shops, whose busiest weeks come in the holiday season. A Sunday event at the start of November lets stores show off seasonal merchandise, offer specials and introduce themselves to customers before the larger rush of Black Friday and Small Business Saturday later in the month.
The Decatur County Chamber of Commerce lists local businesses from across the county as members, and it has promoted the Christmas Open House as an annual event. Visit Decatur County, the county’s tourism site, also lists it among the year’s events.
The event was held Sunday, Nov. 1, and has already taken place this year. Shoppers who missed it can still visit the participating businesses during their regular hours, and the chamber’s member directory lists the businesses in the county. With Thanksgiving on Nov. 26 and Christmas about seven weeks away, residents will have plenty of other chances to shop locally in Decatur County.